Fence



' (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. 0. WYGANT.

FENCE.

No. 370,513. Patented Sept. 27,1887;

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J; O. WYGANT.

FENCE.

No. 370,51 Patented-Sept. 27, 1887.

% hwmw/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN o. WYGANT, or o UrvILnE, OHIO.

FENCE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,513, datedSeptember 27, 1887. Application filed May 4, 1887. Serial No. 237,104.(No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I, JOHN G. WYGANT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Outville, in the county of Licking and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Rail Fences, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in rail fences; and it consistsin the construction and arrangement of the parts thereof, which will bemore fully hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

The essential feature of my invention is the manner or method ormounting the rails in connection with the posts by means of wires insuch a manner as to hold firmly the said rails in connection with theposts and prevent the displacement thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a fence which is simple andeffective in its construction, easily and readily set up, and when setup strong and durable and adapted to re sist wear and the various forcesbrought to bear upon a fence of this construction. I attain this objectby the construction of fence illustrated in the accompanying drawings,wherein like letters of reference indicate similar parts in the severalviews, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of two panels of myimproved fence, shown completed and mounted. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of a post and a portion of a rail, showing the first step'in makingthe fence and mounting the first rail. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig.2, showing the first or lower rail mounted and the second rail inposition to be securely fastened to the said post. Fig. 4. is an endview of one of the posts with the rails attached thereto, andanchor-wires secured thereto and to anchor-stakes, which are shown asdriven into the ground. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a panelof a fence as it appears when finished. V

A indicates the rails, and B the posts, composing the fence, which' maybe of any preferred form of construction. A wire, 0, is secured at thelower portion of each post by means of a staple, c, Fig. 4, and when thesaid wire has thus been secured the one end of the rail D is insertedunder the wire adjacent to and above the said staple, as shown in Fig.2. The wire 0 is thence bent across the rail near its end in a diagonaldirection and toward the opposite post, as shown in Fig. 5. A staple,

c, is thence driven over the wire and into the At asuitablepredetermined and regular distance above the rail D, as shown inFig. 4, a staple, c, is driven into the post B, over the wire in amanner similar to the lower staple c, heretofore described. The wire 0is thence drawn tightly through the last staple driven, and through thestaple c, which has not as yet been driven entirely into the post, andwhen the said wire 0 has thus been drawn through the staple the staple cis driven tightly into the stake or post B, and draws the wire down overthe face of the lower rail, D, as shown in Fig. 2, in a diagonalposition, heretofore described. Another rail A is then placed under thewire adjacent to and above the upper staple c and the said wire 0 thencedrawn across the rail near its end in a diagonal line, in a mannersimilar to the lower rail just secured. A second staple, c, is then inlike manner partially driven into the post I), over the wire, and athird-staple c driven into the post B, over the wire 0, adjacent to theposition to be occupied by the third rail, as shown in Fig. 4. The thirdstaple 0 being thus secured in the post B, and confining the wire 0thereunder, the said wire (I is thence drawn again to stretch it to itsfullest extent, and the second staple,c,is thence driven home in amanner similar to the first operation. This operation of securing theends of the rails A will be continued until the desired number of railshave been mounted in connection with the posts.

In mounting the rails in connection with the posts the wire 0 will besecured in a zigzag manner, the loops confining the rails all extendingobliquely across them near their ends in the same direction. The sameconstruction is carried out in the other post supporting the other endsof the rails; butin this instance the wire 0 will be so arranged thatthe loops passing over the ends of the rails will be inclined in areverse direction to those confining the ends of the rails at the otherposts. By' this means it will be seen that it will be impossible tolongitudinally displace the rails from connection with the posts B, andbeing confined by the loops, as described, any vertical movement willalso be prevented. Each panel of the fence is adapted to be constructedindividually, and then connected to the next panel by wire loops G whichare passed around the two posts of the panels, and tightened by twistingto form a positive union between the two panels.

When the wires 0 are secured to the lower portion of each post, ashereinbefore set forth, a staple, 0 is removably secured in the topport-ion of each post, through which the wire mounted.

O is passed. The said staple c is situated in such a position in the topof the post 13, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, that in drawing the wireupwardly before the loops 0 are secured the line of draft brought tobear thereupon will be in the same-plane as the face of the stake orpost upon which the rails are being When the rails have all beensocured, as hereinbefore set forth, the upper end of the wire 0 issecured near the top portion of the post B on the upper side of the toprail thereof, as shown in Fig. 5.

This form of fence, in View of its construction, is especiallyapplicable for sections of the country wherein floods and high winds areprevalent, and is also adapted to be removed from one place to another,as may be desired. As a means of securement for the several posts orsections of the fence, as may be deemed necessary, an anchorwire, D, islooped around the post and connected at its two lower ends at each sideof each of the posts to two anchor stakes, D which are driven into theground and firmly hold the fence or its sections in the desiredposition.

Owing to the simplicity of construction of my improved fence it requiresthe labor of but one person to construct the same and set it up inposition. The staple 0 forms a ready means for tightening the wiresacross the ends of the rail, thus dispensing with the use ofwirestretchers, or analogous implements, which necessarily saves time,labor, and expense. It may properly be called a tension-staple. By meansof the diagonal arrangementv of the wires 0, as herein set forth, thestaples are arranged in different lines, and are thereby mounted indifferent lines ofgrain of the posts, and splitting and injury of thepostsis thereby prevented, rendering the posts strong and durable.

The novelty and utility of my improved form of fence being obviouslyapparent, it is unnecessary to further enlarge upon the same herein. Itis obvious that many slight variations in the construction andarrangement of parts may be made and substituted for those herein shownand described without in the least departing from the nature andprinciple of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- In combination with theposts, the rails laid flat against the face of the posts and the wiressecured at one end to the bottom of the posts, the said wires beingpassed diagonally across the ends of the rails, alternately in oppositedirections, whereby each rail has one end secured by a wire loop whichextends or inclines in one direction, while the wire loop at the otherend of the rail inclines in the opposite direction, and thus thetendency of the rails to be displaced or to slip longitudinally is e11-tirely obviated, and the staples securing the wire to the face of thepost, a pair of staples for each rail, the bottom staple being securedrigidly in place while the top staple serves as a tension device to drawthe wire over the face of the ends of the rails, the wire between therails extending across the face of the post in an inclined line, thewire tie O connecting the adjacent panels of the fence, and the wirebrace D, connected to the meeting ends of the panels and staked oranchored to the ground, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. VVYGANT.

Witnesses:

E. G. SIGGERS, MYRTLE STALNAKER.

